Firestorm
by PhoenixFirestar
Summary: A team of hunters step into New York, but what is it they're hunting and why? Step into the darkest underbelly of New York and find out. Rated for cussing so far, though there will be violence, abuse, possible triggers, and some pretty crazy stuff. Working on this story to help flesh out OC's for an original story, so R&R. Also, cover image is by me.
1. Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, but I do own my OC's. I'm mostly playing around with my original story and turtles. I like the Bay turtles, but not the story, so I changed it up a bit here.  
Enjoy!

* * *

_'T'is a dark and stormy night in the streets of the New York slums. The lightning dances gracefully atop the skyscrapers lost to the lowering clouds, while rain pours down like a sparkling waterfall, catching and reflecting back the millions of lights from the city that never sleeps.'_

* * *

Three young women walk through the south end of the Bronx where new housing meets old in a sharp relief of wealth and poverty. The young woman in the lead walks lightly through the gathering puddles, barely making a splash to dampen her dark sneakers or stain her light jeans. Her movements are precise and proud, her back straight with her shoulders back and her head held high though all is hidden under a leather jacket and fleece hood. She turns slightly to glare back at her companion, all blacks and reds like a big bubbly demon, "Iya… Do you seriously have to narrate our evening tonight?" Her silvery voice holds a faint Japanese accent.

The second woman laughs brightly from under her dark umbrella, her amusement matching her shimmering dark red hair that tumbles down her red wool trench coat. She wrinkles her delicate nose in amusement as she kicks up a puddle towards her less enthusiastic friend, staining the light jeans with a few spots of water, "Course I do! Makes it deadly!" Her husky voice drips with her Irish accent. "Asides, Melanie don't mind, do ya?" Her designer black boots suffer from the water and abuse as she skips through more puddles.

The last girl trails behind them both and is the only one to look like she belongs in the poorer areas of the Bronx. She walks with her shoulders hunched and a wary eye on everything. Her features are well hidden under her hoodie, but her low voice cuts through the patter of rain, "Oh shut it Camilla. Yeh know bloody well I can' stand yer ramblin'."

Camilla pouts prettily at the English girl's response, looking like a spoiled rich girl in the middle of the slums. Melanie glances around briefly then tilts her head towards the first girl, a hint of tension tightening her voice, "I'm gettin' a grim feelin' here, Asako."

Asako glances up at the street signs as they pass them, rain dripping onto her warm pale cheeks while the thin light shines off her long strawberry blonde bangs that fall across half her features, "Ee… Almost there."

Traffic is still heavy along the wet roads, despite it being close to midnight, with cars that blare bass as they head to their shady destinations. Most of the foot traffic through this area is left for the prostitutes standing under the streetlamps and their pimps that are just out of sight. Groups of gangsters throw signs and shout profanities at each other as they pass by.

They walk in silence for a few more blocks as Asako leads them to an old warehouse with stairs leading below street level on the side. Camilla skips down the steps and knocks on the door cheerfully, "Girl's night out! Open up!"

Asako releases a deep, suffering sigh but leans back against the stairwell wall, while Melanie's gaze moves around behind them to see if anyone decided to follow.

The door used to be black, but now it's covered in old posters, some torn off and then covered with others. A dim, flickering light bulb is the only light in the dark stairwell, barely showing the bad black paint job of the stairs and walls around them. The door creaks open, revealing a towering, muscular man with short cropped black hair. His tawny gold eyes stand out against his deep blue-black skin, and he glares hard at the three girls, "What the fuck you want, bitch?"

Asako scowls at the rudeness of the man, taking in his sloppy appearance of loose pants and no shirt, "We're here for a meeting."

The bouncer snarls, showing a hint of fangs, but he opens the door for them, "Down the hall, second door on the right. Better fuckin follow the rules, demon." He spits the last word at her.

Asako lowers her lashes coyly as she steps into the bar, "I always do. Until someone starts a fight." She brushes past him with an annoyed huff.

Camilla flutters her vibrant green eyes at the bouncer as she shakes off her umbrella and closes it up, "Don't mind her, she's having a cranky night." His only response is a look of disgust as he tries to flick water off his torn-up jeans.

Melanie shoves Camilla onward, "Come on ya gabbing wench! Bloody focus!"

The bouncer glares after them as soon as he has the door locked and he's back on his stool. The three girls ignore him as they take in the bar. Once a speakeasy in the prohibition years it's now a bar for the secretive. The smell of cheap fried foods, smoke, unwashed bodies, and alcohol with the undertone of vomit fill the air. A dark, polished wooden bar covers part of the back wall directly opposite of the door with a few largely muscled patrons that could match the bouncer in looks and attitude. The floor wraps around the right side of the bar into an open room of pool tables occupied by four women, different in all ways except the glaring eyes and leather jackets with three red claw marks on the back. The main area is full of tables for drinkers, while the walls are lined with booths that are covered more in duct tape than fabric.

The bartender nods to the girls, looking the part in his white buttoned-down shirt and black tie. Most striking is his lively blue eyes half buried in wrinkles as he takes them all in, "They're waitin'."

Melanie gives him a small nod of acknowledgement and even a hint of respect as she leads the two other girls down the dim hallway to the left of the bar, half hidden by shadows. The polished concrete ends as they pass the kitchen to their right, one lazy cook half listening to the fryer timer as he reads the horse races and mumbles on who to bet on. Camilla wrinkles her delicate nose at the heavy smell of rancid oil, "Oi, the fry up smells manky!"

Melanie arches her pierced brow, "Oh, deffo." She casts a look at her two companions, Asako as cold and unreadable as a cream-colored marble statue, and Camilla almost her opposite with her warm and lively features. She takes a slow breath and stops in front of the second door from the kitchen, then opens it, stepping in and to the side as she eyes the men in the room.

The room itself is cozy with a large table taking up most of the space. A heavily shaded light hangs from the ceiling over the table but reveals three older men in high end business suits, silk ties, and perfectly manicured hands. Behind them, four body guards rest against the shadowed back wall, each looking suspicious and slightly taken off guard by the appearance of the girls.

Asako walks in after Melanie, her storm blue eyes cold as stone as she takes her place behind the only plush leather seat on their side of the table and she tugs her hood lower to hide her features. Camilla follows with the brightest of smiles on her red lips and she gracefully drops into the seat, resting both hands on the table, one over the other, "Hello boys. I'm Camilla, lead investigator from the agency." Her strong Irish accent is barely noticeable now.

The middle of the three men, with balding dark grey hair and a deep blue suit eyes her with disgust, "This is it? Three little girls? I thought we were getting the best team money could buy." The one on the left with well-trimmed brown hair sneers, while the greying man on the right laughs coldly.

Camilla puts on her best, friendliest smile, "Oh, sweetie, we are the best. But, if you'd rather have someone more your style, which I'm guessing is old, white, and nasty, you'll have to contact the agency. We might have a few left if they haven't botched anything yet. However, Mr. Coon, it could take another few years, if at all, since the agency frowns upon the rejection of their top team." Her smile has faded to a disappointed look as she speaks.

Mr. Coon blusters as his face turns an interesting shade of red with splotches of purple, "How DARE you! You can't go looking into me like that! I never agreed to that!"

Camilla watches his outrage coolly as she leans back in the leather chair, "I never agree to meet anonymously, Mr. Coon, but you've been in the local news enough for me to know your face as the new CEO of what used to be Sacks Industries. I believe the new company name is Hudson Street Industries, much less pretentious than naming it after yourselves."

Mr. Coon snarls while his brown-haired companion sulks, and his grey-haired partner still looks disgusted, but he's the one to toss over the folder of information, "We can't wait years for your inept company to figure out how to send real investigators to us, so you might as well try. Somehow these murderous creatures were created by Sacks, it seems there was an accident buried in the reports. We need these things brought to our warehouse for proper disposal."

Camilla glowers at the other man darkly, keeping her hands on the table, "Real investigators?" She stands up as all signs of friendliness falls from her face, "That will get a ban from the agency and from any other investigative team you might try to hire. Your pride has landed you right in a pile of your own shit."

Melanie is the one that moves towards the door, reaching for the handle before the brown-haired man yelps, making her pause, "Please! These things are killing people out there!"

Camilla gives a cold sneer down her nose at the three men, "That is not my problem. I don't work for free, nor do I work for sexist pigs. Clean up your own mess."

Melanie turns her head to hide the smirk crossing her lips, while Asako remains as still and foreboding as the moment she took her stance behind Camilla's chair. That coldness and Camilla's attitude slapped the three men hard, and Mr. Coon finally gives in with a resigned sigh, "Fine. It's true these things are killing people, and we need them taken care of quickly. I apologize for doubting you." The words came out like pulling teeth, but Camilla slowly sinks back down in her chair.

She reaches across the table to grab the file and flips it open. There's a lot of names and dates, chemical components and science notes, then pictures and names of people lost. Near the back are whatever pictures they can find of the beasts, most blurred or grainy, "This is all you have?"

The brown-haired one taps his pudgy fingers together, "Well, that's all we could find on them."

Camilla lets out an explosive sigh of annoyance and reaches into her bodice to pull out a card. She flicks it on the table, "Fine. We'll start once you transfer eight million into that account, and upon completion another six million."

Mr. Coon's eyes nearly pop from his head and he slams his hand on the table, "THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS! I agreed to five million! This is extortion!"

Camilla's sweet smile is back on her lips, "No, this is hush money to keep us from telling the other investigative companies about your lack of cooperation. You seriously can't expect to be a prick and not pay for it. I'll give you three days to think on it, then I'll cancel the contract, put in my reports, and move on to a more accommodating client."

She doesn't even await his response to that and with the folder in hand she gets up and saunters out of the room while Mr. Coon has a near apoplectic fit. Melanie follows her and Asako comes out last, closing the door behind her before the CEO can get enough breath to start yelling.

* * *

Asako waits until they're out the back door and into the dark alley before saying anything, "That was reckless, you provoked him unnecessarily, and you manipulated him. He may not pay now, and we can't uphold a ban."

Camilla hands Asako the file and pulls her umbrella out to keep the still falling rain from getting her wet, "I know. I pushed all the wrong buttons and hit him where it hurt the most. I had thought to play along with their ideal that women are manipulative, greedy snakes, that put me on even ground with them. They'll pay. They can't afford not to."

Asako scowls darkly from under her hood, but she turns her attention to the file, pulling out several pictures of the beasts, "Well, these are certainly interesting. I've never seen anything like them."

Melanie comes over to take a peak, narrowing her warm brown eyes, "Look at em. They're huge! Like werewolf huge!"

Camilla moves closer as well to take a good look at the few clear pictures, "Well well, quare beasties fer sure. Looks like turtles with those things on their backs."

Melanie takes one of the better photos and looks at it more closely, "Yeah, they do." She turns the photo in her hand thoughtfully, "Most of these photos are from alley and subway security cameras…" She gives it back to Asako and looks up at the sky, squinting her eyes to the rain, "It's starting to let up, I can head out now and see what I can find in the alleys at least." At the Japanese girl's nod, she leaps into the air gracefully and between one breath and the next she shifts into a giant raven, pumping her broad wings to climb out of the alley.

Asako glances over at Camilla as she put the photos away and tucks the folder into her jacket, "I'd hate to ask, but if they're really hurting people we need to get them nailed down as soon as possible. Would you check the subway?"

Camilla gives a suffering sigh, "Alright. Just make sure my soaps arrived, I have an image to maintain, ya know." She folds her umbrella up and hands it to Asako, "And I'll be expectin' dinner from ya, I don't know the good haunts and I'm not going to step on local toes."

Asako gives a faint nod, tucking the umbrella into her pocket, "I was going to ask you about that. Alright, I'll see you both at the hotel before dawn. I'll see what else I can figure from these files and maybe Tech will give us a little more to go on."

Camilla huffs quietly, "Sure, you get the easy job." She turns her back on the Asian woman and shifts down into a red and cream wolf with the deepest green eyes. She shakes her fur with annoyance at the rain and pads off down the alley and out into the night.

Asako watches them both disappear into the darkness before she follows, losing herself in the sparse crowds as she makes her way back to Manhattan.

* * *

As she does every morning before sunrise, Asako steps out onto her carved stone balcony with a mug of tea in her hands to keep warm. It's a perfect time to clear her head after a long, tiring night. She wears a thick silk under-kimono dyed a rich cream color to fend off the damp chill from the rains of the past week, even though it's still early autumn. The light breeze curls along her thirty-second story balcony, making the shaped topiaries in their carved stone pots shiver and it tugs lightly on her loose, strawberry blonde hair that falls almost to her knees.

From the balcony, Asako can look over Central Park and peer through the taller sky-scrapers to see the ocean. The predawn light slowly brightens the Eastern sky and reflects off the multitude of glass buildings, making the city begin to glow. Below her, the fog is thick in the streets and makes the towers look like steel and glass fingers rising from the dark swirling waters. Breaking the illusion are the sounds of traffic far below her despite the early hour.

The sun breaks free of the ocean and the day begins with a rat-sized red bat fluttering weakly to the balcony. Asako holds out her warmed hand, offering the creature a place to land. It floats with indecision for only a moment, then lands heavily on the offered hand, soaking up the woman's warmth into its small body. Asako draws the animal to her chest and steps lightly inside the glass doors, "Cutting it close, aren't you Camilla?" She takes the creature straight to the white marble bathroom attached to Camilla's room. Two packs of blood rest in an ice bucket on the sink counter along with various hair supplies and make up, and the jacuzzi bathtub holds a host of various scented soaps and oils for washing and pampering.

The bat flutters out of her hand and towards the sink, slowly changing into the ageless Irish woman wearing grey jeans and a white blouse, "Aye." She already starts the water for a hot shower, letting it warm up, "Let me wash and eat, then I'll tell ya what I found."

Asako nods to her friend and closes the door as she leaves. She takes a moment to refill her tea before walking back out onto the balcony to await Melanie.

Almost an hour later, Camilla lounges on one of the white leather couches in the reception room, wearing her thick white bathrobe, her legs tucked under her and to the side. The fire in the large fireplace burns brightly, adding a warmth and cheerfulness to the white marble and wood floored room. Tucked away next to the sliding glass doors is a room service cart with several covered dishes, and many more used dishes stacked up on the bottom half.

Silently, a raven the size of an eagle rides the faltering air currents up to the balcony, shifting its spread tail and primaries to keep it stable until it reaches the balcony. With the subtle draw of the wings, it slides off the current and once over the balcony, it shifts into a young woman with thick black hair candy striped with blue. The upper half is drawn into two buns with cascades of hair from the top. Blue and black bangs fall to her dark brows, the left pierced with three barbells, while the cascades of hair brush along her ears, each pierced with five rings. Freckles dust her pale, slightly olive skin, but are pale in comparison to the Egyptian black eye tattoos that curl under each warm brown eye, reminiscent of Horus and Ra. In her left nostril is another piercing, with one more just above her lip on the right side. Her full lips are a deep shade of purple and her eyes are smoky black, the only makeup she wears. Around her neck bounces an ancient bronze Ankh with tiny carvings all over it, held by a black leather strap.

The woman lands lightly on bare feet and she shivers as goose bumps crawl up her skin. She wears faded old jeans and a worn black hoodie, though the chill wind seems to cut right through it, "Bloody hell I'm beginnin' to think I'm back in England with this weather."

Asako smirks softly, "I'm beginning to think that too." She waves the woman inside, "Camilla's back and showered. We've been waiting for you, Miss Melanie."

Melanie snarls at the name, "Not a miss, I'm a beast." She flexes as she walks into the reception room and stops at the cart to grab several plates of dinner, "And fuck all I am thankful you keep this cart stocked." She takes her dinner to the couch and settles by Camilla, devouring the gourmet burger and fries with single-minded focus.

Asako closes and locks the door, then pulls the heavy curtains across. She waits for Melanie to tackle her first plate before she speaks up, "Seems like you both had an eventful evening to be back so late."

Melanie shakes her head, setting the empty plate on the white and pale gold coffee table and settling the second plate on her lap, "Not really, just takin' out a few robbers and such to pass the time. I was hopin' to see if they came out later or I could catch them going off to bed, but nothin'."

Asako leans back by the fireplace, soaking up the warmth from the pale bricks, "You think maybe they're shifters? That would make things more difficult."

Melanie shrugs her shoulders slightly as she digs into her fried fish with gusto, but Camilla shakes her head, her damp curls bouncing along her shoulders, "They don't sound like shifters. From the bits and pieces that I've gotten from the subways, these guys are vigilantes of some sort. Apparently, they saved a bunch of people in the subway itself, and some suspect that the vigilantes took out a huge gang that had been plaguing the city. There's hints the gang is coming back, but nothing concrete. Shifters usually won't save humans like that."

Asako frowns slightly, "True, but they also aren't normal. I heard back from our tech people finally. Yes, they are huge. The tallest is pushing about six foot eight or so, and they're all muscular. From what I gathered in the photos they use Japanese weapons. In the report there's not much on the creatures themselves. It seems there was an accidental spill on a busy street and the victims were never found. They suspect these turtles are the victims, and there may have been some human bystanders but there's nothing more on them. There was a huge cover up explaining that a few people got splashed, but the chemicals were harmless, and everyone came out fine. The chemicals spilt were mutagenic, similar to the stuff we've found in World Pharm and their subsidiaries."

Camilla yawns hugely, showing her long fangs in the dim, warm light, "So are we buying the accident part? Or the people are alive and well part?"

Melanie glances at her vampiric partner, mumbling between bites of a personal pizza, "Neither. I wouldn't trust anything these companies throw out for PR. But right now, I'm beat. I'm going to finish this off, take a shower, and pass out."

Asako purses her lips in thought, then gives a small nod, "Alright, good work. Go get some rest and we'll hit the clubs tonight. You've earned a day off and some fun. After that we'll work on our real mission. Tech also mentioned that there's a large shipment coming in the next few weeks."

Camilla gets up and heads straight to her room for sleep while Melanie scowls, "Vague much? How do we find the shipment details and keep an eye out for those turtle things?"

Asako thinks about it, giving Melanie time to finish her third dinner before she speaks up, "I was thinking I'll handle tracking down the shipment and you two keep on trying to find those things. If it comes down to it, we can switch gears and start the real work without finding them."

Melanie grumbles as she gets up and puts her plate on the cart, "What happens if they find us?"

Asako shrugs, "We deal with it. If they're hostile, we'll take them out. If not, we'll warn them off."

Melanie grumbles as she tugs her hoodie off, revealing more tattoos. A tribal band of blues and greens swirl around her right arm, and a tribal raven of black rests on her left, just below the shoulder, "Right. Just like old times, eh?"

Asako's lips break into a faint smile, "Hai, Melanie-chaaaan."

Melanie groans as she stabs a finger threateningly at Asako, "Never. NO. I will follow you all over screaming 'Nevermore' at you until you go as insane as Poe."

The girls fall into the bright laughter of the young until Melanie wipes away the moisture in her eyes and gives a wave before she heads off to take a hot shower and get some sleep. Asako sighs deeply, still smiling at the lingering joke, then it fades as her thoughts turn back to work. She steps into the kitchen to refill her tea. It's cold to begin with, but within a few moments the cup is steaming in her hands. She settles in the breakfast nook that overlooks the balcony, and Central Park with the perfectly colorful sunrise behind it, and she picks up the files to look over them again, wanting to make sure she pulled every hint she could from them.


	2. Ode de Obsession

(welcome to round 2, thank you for your patience!)

* * *

Raphael crouches low on the roof of the warehouse to avoid being seen under the flickering flashes of lightning. The rain patters on his shell which makes the night completely miserable.

Nearby, Donnie kneels by one of the many skylights to carefully set up surveillance equipment. He quietly grumbles about the thick stench of rotten fish from the nearby docks and looks a little greener than usual.

Raphael glances back at his brother, torn between compassion and anger. His voice is gruff either way when he snaps at the teched-out turtle, "Hey, keep it down."

Donnie briefly glares at Raph through his rain-spattered glasses, hissing quietly, "What? It stinks out here!" He turns back to his equipment, "And it's a pain in the shell to set up electronics in the rain."

Raphael scans the roof slowly, the rain hiding them just as well as any shadows tonight, "Don't mean you need to be bitchin' when we got security pokin' around."

Donnie rolls his eyes at the so-called security before squinting at his work, "You mean half-blind and nearly deaf gangsters. Soon as I get this uplink set up, we'll be good." With his tongue poking from his lips he finishes his work, then turns to gladly stuff his wet gear into a black duffel bag.

Without a word, the slender turtle leaps across the alley, the sound of car doors slamming shut masking whatever hint of sound he makes. Raphael lands moments after, giving his brother a gruff hrmph before taking the lead to another building not far. They planned to meet up here in case anything happened, as there was a storage shed they can easily get into. Now they use it to get out of the rain, the older sibling leaning back against the tool covered wall, "So how's it lookin', Don?"

Donnie settles beside his older brother and pulls up his holoscreens to show the view in the warehouse, "It's looking pretty good for a rain job. Casey's team should have the feed and get all the evidence they could possibly want for whatever is going on."

Raphael smirks and fist bumps his brother, "Let's hope they actually use it… No point running errands for the cops if they don't use the info."

The tech nods with a faint smile, "Got that right. I really owe you for being my backup all the time. I'll set up a pizza pick up once we're done with Leo's errand."

Raph snorts in annoyance, "Yeah, Leo's errand. Guy's off his rocker if he thinks the Foot is coming back. It's been two damn years since they all disappeared, and we have our hands full enough with the local gangs trying to move in and take a chunk of New York." He nudges his brother's shoulder lightly, "Pizza sounds good, and maybe a few beers while we wait for Casey to get back to us, huh?"

Donnie sighs quietly, "I'll get it set up. But we better get our shells to the docks before Leo starts spam calling us."

Raphael gruffs and begins to stand when Donnie grabs his arm, "Hold up… Check this out. Isn't that one of the goons from the company that bought out Sacks?"

Raphael crouches back down to eye the holoscreen, "Damn, yeah it is. What the hell does that prick want with the Purple Dragons?"

Donnie gives a half-hearted shrug, "All I can hear is they're asking about some sort of auction that's coming up. Something about buying in early to see the merchandise. What would a biotech company want that a gang could provide?"

Raphael huffs in annoyance as he folds his arms over his chest, "Chemicals maybe… But we haven't heard of anything big getting hit recently…"

Donatello scowls, "We should stay…"

The older turtle is quick to shake his head, "Naw, let's get Leo's shit done, then we can check on the gang. Besides, Casey'll have a bunch of people watchin' that. He ain't no slacker."

Don gives one last look at the holoscreens and their tantalizing information, then he flicks them off and pushes off from the wall.

Raphael gives a faint chuckle as he follows his brother, "Hey, don't worry. If Case thinks it's really bad, he'll call and tell us to break it all up." He cracks his knuckles at the very thought of breaking some heads.

With a matching chuckle, Don opens the door, "You've missed breaking heads every night."

His older brother gives him an answering grin before stepping out into the torrential rain, turning to head towards the docks proper and finish the night as soon as possible.

Donnie is quick to follow as he calls his oldest brother with some trepidation, "Alright Leo, the surveillance is all set up and broadcasting to Casey. Raphael and I are on the way to the docks. Have you found anything?"

Leo's annoyed voice crackles over Don's speakers, "Haven't found anything substantial yet but keep your eyes peeled. I have a bad feeling about tonight."

Raph can't help it as he slows enough to be by Donnie, "You say that every night. The Foot is gone Leo, it's been two years! We should focus on the gangs and problems we have now."

Leo's voice is sharp and tense, "Just get to the docks and be thorough in your patrol there. I don't want anything to slip past us."

There's a click as he cancels the call and Donnie huffs with annoyance, "Like we're ever not thorough. Leo's starting to show signs of obsessive behavior."

Raph leaps across another alley, his brother matching his pace beside him, "Starting to? Soon as Shredder disappeared and Karai ran back to Japan, Leo's been on edge about the Foot making a comeback. We beat them! Bebop and Rocksteady are tucked away in some zoo jail, and as far as I'm concerned, the Foot can stay in Japan."

Donnie thinks back on the past years and he must agree, "Alright, so Leo's slowly getting worse in his obsession with the Foot."

They stop as they near the north side of the docks, spotting movement on a roof just on the edge of the containers. Raphael snarls silently and he waves his brother back into the deepest shadows. He keeps his voice very low, even as the rain pounds loudly on the containers, "Whatcha got Don?"

Donnie scans the figure, "Female, about five-six, ninjato and katana, shinobi outfit… Might be Foot but she's alone."

Raphael narrows his green eyes, "Leo'll read us the riot act if we don't bring this one in. I'll grab her, you blindfold her. Might be Karai."

Donnie slides a long scrap of fabric from his belt, "Karai is five nine and leaner than this girl. Be careful."

Raphael grunts his acknowledgment and he crouches low, taking his time to sneak up on the girl. He holds one sai in hand as he sizes the ninja up.

She settles into a crouch at the edge of the building, keeping back far enough that the lights don't give her away from below. Her suit is a tight mesh of blacks, greys, blues, and browns that break up her shape and make her look more like a walking pile of small shadows.

Around her waist is a bulky belt that hides the curve of her hips to her chest with the handle of her ninjato resting along her lower back at her left hip. Across her back, she wears a katana easily as she settles slowly for a long wait with an intense focus on something out among the containers.

The giant turtle prepares to strike, slowly stalking closer and letting the rain hide what small noise he does make. A few more feet to go and she'll be within striking distance until he steps on something sharp. Too late he pulls back from the caltrop, cursing under his breath as his foot slips on the wet gravel. The girl begins to turn towards the faint sounds, her hand reaching back for her ninjato. Raphael gives one more curse and he launches himself at the girl, catching her before her hand reaches her weapon. His thick arm goes around her neck and he hauls her up against his plastron. He winces as he steps back, brushing over another caltrop but avoiding the more painful penetration of the sharp blade. The roof is lightly scattered with the telling weapons, and he slowly makes his way back to the shadows with her struggling in his grasp, her gloved hands raking along his arm to find purchase.

He trails his sai along her ribs, leaning close to whisper near her ear, "Relax or you'll be my new pincushion." Her hood hides her features, and from this angle, he can see she wears a mask as well as black makeup on what skin might show. He's hit with the familiar scents of steel, honing oil, wax, and leather. Then the undertone of what he can only describe as vanilla cherry soda, something that makes his mouth water and his stomach remind him that dinner is going to have to be soon.

The girl finally stills when she feels the weapon against her, but not the stiffening of fear, only the stillness of waiting. Raphael nods, keeping his voice quiet, "That's better. Now, mind telling me what the Foot is doing back in town?"

She gasps out as his arm tightens around her, leaving her feet dangling close to his knees, "Not Foot."

He scowls darkly, "Ain't no ninja in New York except us and the Foot."

Raphael can feel his brother coming up behind him with the blindfold, ready to take the prisoner so they can take her somewhere drier to interrogate her properly.

She manages to get a decent grip on his arm and pulls herself up to relieve the pressure on her throat, "You're not the only ninja in the world, _baka_."

To both turtles' surprise, she swings her legs up and curls around his forearm, gasping with pain as the sai leaves a thin slice along her ribs and she nails him in the face with her knees. In the moment of dazed surprise, she grabs his head between her knees and squeezes tightly as she uses that leverage to pull from his grasp, leaving a smear of black face-paint on his arm.

She tumbles ungracefully down to the roof and rolls away, coming up into a crouch with her ninjato drawn. The blade is held horizontally just under her eyeline in a defensive position while her other hand lingers close to her katana handle.

Raphael shakes his head to clear the faint ringing and he staggers a step before he focuses back on her, "Alright, you got some moves, girl_, _but'cha can't beat me." He flexes his muscles and sinks down into a battle stance, flourishing his sai to ease his own tension of the fight. Donatello eases around to flank her, sweeping the caltrops away with his boots and drawing a part of her attention. He still holds the blindfold wrapped around his hand while he takes a defensive stance to trap the girl against the edge of the building.

The shinobi draws her katana and holds it back behind her, level with her waist and ready to strike at a moment's notice, "I'm not here to fight you, _kame,_ I suggest you leave."

Raphael catches the bright violet eyes narrowing dangerously as they flick between the two, though there's a smear of pale skin just above her mask and across one eye, "I'm not going anywhere until I get some answers from you. Who are you and why are you here?"

She stays perfectly still, her voice soft and musical as she replies, "I'm hunting, and the only name you'll get is Phoenix." She slides her foot back towards the edge of the building, easing away from him.

Raphael catches the move and as soon as the implications register, he lunges for her. Donnie swings his bo around from behind her, aiming to keep her from merely stepping back off the roof and falling to her death fifty feet below. She's too fast for either of them and launches into a backflip over the bo staff, disappearing into the torrential rain.

A hard clunk follows as Raphael meets head-on with Donnie's staff, leaving the massive turtle with a growing lump on his skull, "Fuck Donnie!"

Donatello gives a half shrug, "Sorry Raphael, I thought I could keep her up here. I guess she played us pretty well."

Raph sneers as he steps up to the edge and glares down at the street some five stories down. With a flourish, he snaps his sai back into it sheath, "Yeah… Pretty impressive for a human."

Donnie slides up beside him and looks out over the shipyard slowly, "Impressive for anyone. She's gone, and I mean she's not even showing up on the thermal camera. What happened to you grab her and I blindfold her?"

Raph slowly rubs his face where her knees connected as a faint blush creeps over his cheeks, "Wasn't expectin' her to hit me back. Thought I had her in a good hold." His hand slides up to check his skull, wincing at the tender lump under his fingers, bringing himself back to what just happened.

Donnie eyes his brother curiously, "After this, we'll have two sets of footage to look over…"

Raphael keeps his eyes on the shipyard for a few more moments, then he turns and leaps across to the next roof to do a quick patrol of the docks, "Let Case deal with the gang shit, Donnie! I want to see what you got on that girl, Phoenix. And fuck it! We're gettin' tiramisu too! I need something sweet for the headache that's going to hit when we get home."

Donnie smirks at the idea of dessert as he follows after Raphael, "I'm glad it was just you and me tonight. Leo would have flipped out when he saw her, and Mikey would have hit on her."

Raph snickers as his eyes sweep over the misty area, "She might have given fearless something to think about. She's damn good." He catches her scent on his hand as he rubs it along his jaw, her knees probably left a bruise when she got out of his hold, "Actually, I'd like to see what she'd do to Leo."

Don uses his equipment to check on things, but other than the regular workers, there's nothing out of the ordinary, "With how Leo's been lately, he might have hurt her pretty bad before even asking questions."

Raphael eyes his brilliant brother, "Pretty sad when I'm the more level headed of the two, huh?"

Donatello sighs, "Yeah, not even a word of revenge for me hitting you on the head."

The larger turtle shrugs a massive shoulder, "Seriously, I know she played us, and ain't your fault for jumpin' in. I did too." A grin flashes across his features, "Besides, you gotta order dinner and I don't want you ordering some weird shit only you like."

Don half smirks, "I still wouldn't do that to you. You've been keeping Leo off my shell. Let's finish and get out of this rain. I want to talk to Casey and see if he's ever heard of Phoenix before we head back."

* * *

Donatello and Raphael return home in the early hours of the morning, more cheerful than the cold, wet night warranted. At the sound of their excited voices, Leo steps out of the dojo with a hopeful look in his piercing blue eyes, "You found something?"

Raphael snickers and pats Donnie on the shoulder, pushing the brainiac towards his lab, "Go do what you do and get some rest." He turns to his older brother, "Yeah, found some scumbag gangs setting up this black-market thing the new biotech industry is interested in.

That hopeful look turns to anger as Leo growls out, "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Raphael rolls his eyes, "What do you want? We haven't found the Shredder, or Karai, or Stockman. From what I can tell they ran back to Japan with their tails between their legs."

Donatello leaves the dealing of Leo to Raphael, letting him blow off the steam they both have been feeling lately. He makes his way to his lab and drops a bag of leftovers on one of his many tables. He eyes the beer a moment, but decides against it, he was already buzzed from the few they had earlier. Dropping into his office chair, he rolls across the lab to his main desk and connects his portable pc to his mainframe, uploading all the information.

Seeing Donnie head straight for his lab and looking to avoid the growing tension between his two oldest brothers, Mikey turns off his video games and follows after, "Hey Donman! Any word from April?"

Donatello sighs with exasperation, "Not tonight Mike. We talked to Casey about the video we got. How about you ask her for daily updates at pizza night Saturday?"

Mikey sighs, "I have, she doesn't think it's necessary. I mean, what if something happened to her? She takes too much risk just to get a story…"

Donnie smirks faintly, "If anything happened to April, she'd either call for backup or Casey would be knocking down our door to find her. Besides, she hasn't done anything too crazy since those two started dating… or beating each other up… I'm not wholly sure what that kind of relationship would be."

Michelangelo frowns dejectedly, "Yeah…"

With a nudge, Donatello passes his littlest brother a beer and some leftover pizza, "Hey, don't take it so hard. April went through a lot with us and she needs someone to take it out on. You know she'd never hurt us."

A deep, longing sigh escapes the youngest turtle, but he gladly takes the pizza and beer, "Yeah, that's true. She can beat up Casey all she wants. Thanks, Donnie, I can handle it if I see him as a punching bag."

Donatello half-smiles, "It's the least I can do. Speaking of which, I better get this finished. Leo should see what we found." He turns back to his computer and pulls up the video of their encounter with Phoenix. His fingers fly across the keyboard as he seeks out information on the dark web about anyone like her.

Mikey stops with the pizza halfway to his mouth, staring at the video, "Woah. Who is that?"

Donatello raises his voice to reach the two older brothers, still talking tensely, "That's a ninja we ran into at the docks."

Those words make Leo whip around and storm into the lab, his eyes burning with fury though his voice is controlled "What?"

Raphael sneers as he follows Leo into the lab, "Yeah, if you had let me finish, you'd know already."

Leo glares at his moonlighting brothers, "Show me everything you have."

With a faint shrug, Donnie plays what footage they have, "It wasn't much of an encounter, Raph was going to grab her and I would have bagged her, but she managed to get away." He nods to when she curls around and nails Raphael in the face.

Mikey's eyes widen at the move, "Holy pizza rolls! Play it again in slow motion bro! I want to see the look on Raph's face after she hits him!"

Leo growls darkly, "You found the Foot and decided to screw around? You should've knocked her out and dragged her here."

Don gives Raph a look that neatly says, 'Called it', but he keeps his peace.

Raphael nods at Don, but he glares at his older brother, "You couldn't even get out of that hold, Leo. So, don't be bitchin' at me."

Splinter comes out of his room with a curious look on his features at all the arguing, "What is going on, my sons?"

Mikey grins, "Raph got his face knocked in by a girl!"

Splinter steps up in front of the brothers to watch the footage, his dark eyes growing troubled, "She is correct in that there are more ninja in the world. Her moves are odd though. I have never seen such a move to escape a hold. I do recognize the stance is Koga though, the foundation of the Foot style." He sighs at the disaster at the end of the footage, "I believe I will have to order more training for you two if the worst encounter is each other."

Raphael looks down nervously as his hand runs over the bump on his head, "I'm alright, sensei. Donnie was just trying to keep her from escaping, not hurt her."

He looks up at his sons, commanding their attention, "Do you think she is a Foot agent?"

Raphael had talked to Donnie at length about that, and he has to shake his head, "I don't think she is. She only used enough force to escape, gave a name and a purpose, and obviously, she's not hunting us."

Donatello zooms in on her face, showing the violet eyes and smear of pale skin hidden beneath black makeup, "She didn't even flinch when she saw Raphael, so I'd say she's heard about us somehow or she's familiar with mutants. We checked with Casey to make sure and though she's on their watch list, she's a loner. No gang affiliations."

Leo snarls as he jumps into the conversation, "She knew about you, she's a ninja, and she's from Japan. How does that not scream Foot to you? Who else would know about us? And you let her get away." He rounds on Raph, his anger spiking.

Raphael bristles as he stands up to his brother, "I made a judgment call! You weren't there! We don't know she's from Japan, maybe she just knows Japanese, like we do! And Donnie said she may be familiar with mutants! Do you think we're the only ones out there? What about Bebop and Rocksteady? She may be a ninja, but she's a hell of a lot better than even Karai, and she was a hell of a lot more interested in the docks than me." That last held a hint of ache, leaving the hot head with a confused look in his green eyes.

Splinter scowls as he slams the butt of his walking staff on the floor, "_Damaraseru_!"

Silence follows his commanding tone and he strokes his beard slowly, "I think the evidence stacks against her. She may not be Foot, but it seems she is familiar with them enough to know of us and perhaps other mutants. I would recommend extreme caution, my sons."

Leo gives his brothers a smug look, "Since she's hunting on the docks, we'll focus there and see exactly what she's up to. Don, I want you working on her, Casey can wait."

Donatello scowls at Leo darkly, opening his mouth to protest, but Mikey shakes his head just enough to catch his eye. With a snap, he shuts his mouth and turns away from the others for now.

Leo catches the look and he rounds on Mikey, "What was that?"

Mikey holds his hands up in surrender, "Listen bro. You've been way overly violent with any possible hint of the Foot. I'd rather track her down and find the truth but let's not get all violent unless she starts it. None of this attack first and ask questions later attitude you've been carrying around bro."

Leo huffs with cold annoyance, folding his arms across his plastron, "Fine. No fighting unless she starts it, but as soon as she does, I'm making sure she never gets the chance again."

Raph sneers at his brother, "Sounding dark Leo. You sure you're the leader and not trying to follow in my footsteps?"

Leo glares at Raph coldly, "I am the leader here, and I will make sure this city is safe from the Foot."

The blue-banded turtle turns on his heel and storms out of the lab, grumbling under his breath as he heads back to the dojo. Splinter watches his eldest son with a look of deep concern, wondering what happened to drive Leonardo to such extremes. The old rat follows him, deep in thought, and veers to his room to think things over.

Mike waits until the door closes and then he slumps down by Donnie, "Damn dudes, Leo's getting worse every day. I can't hold him back much longer if this keeps up."

Donnie follows his example and slumps down, grabbing a beer to take the edge off the tension, "I know, but I'm glad you're tackling the problem. Maybe once we get this girl figured out, he'll back off."

Mikey smirks, once more digging into his pizza and beer, "So spill. What's she like?"

Raphael snorts, "She's got a dangerous vibe, but she could've hurt me worse than she did. I'm sure of it after looking at the video. She could have grabbed her ninjato at any time and tore me open. Or done more to bust my face in with her knees. Instead, she did just enough to escape, and she got sliced up on my sai, but didn't retaliate or anythin'. She wasn't scared, or angry, just business and we interrupted it."

Mikey eyes his older brothers curiously, "That's it?"

Raphael nods, a faint blush rising to his cheeks that he tries to hide behind grabbing another beer to down. It doesn't work. Mikey's skills at observance are second to none unless he's distracted. Mikey arches an eye ridge, "There's more. What is it Raphie? Come on, you can tell me!"

Raphael snarls, "Don't call me Raphie… And it's stupid! Just the way she smelled like that new cherry vanilla crush. I dunno if it was on her breath or what."

Michelangelo and Donatello both looked up at Raph, though Donnie speaks up first, "Seriously? She smelled like soda?"

Raph blushes harder, "What?! I dunno! Maybe she didn't brush her teeth after having a drink. Maybe it was perfume or whatever. Just sayin' that's what I smelled."

Mikey laughs, "You like her! Damn, a girl hits you in the face and you get all crazy for her." He bats his eyes and cups his hands together in a romantic gesture, pitching his voice low and husky, "Ode de Cherry Soda, for that mutant in your life."

Raphael growls out, "I ain't crazy for anyone!" He slams his beer back, nearly snarling as he heads out to pound on his punching bag. Still, his eyes hold the hint of confusion, but he buries it under his anger.

Donatello watches him go with a curious tilt of his head, "We talked about her a lot before we came back. It was important to figure out her motives, and still, I don't think she's much of a threat to us, even after what Casey told us. She may be an assassin or something, but I don't think she'd have anything against turtle mutants. I'm glad you dragged that promise out of Leo."

Mikey half-smiles, "No problem bro. Seems like lately, I'm the only one that can get through to him. Raph just can't beat sense into him anymore and he stopped listening to you as soon as you started doing double duty with the police. Speaking of which…" He gets up and grabs a bag to give to Donnie, "The full set of Star Trek the Next Generation, Blu ray, as promised. Nothing says appreciation like a binge night of your favorite old shows, but obviously, Leo has other ideas."

Donnie smiles softly, "Thank you Mikey. That means a lot to me." He sighs with bone tiredness, "But I do need to try and find something more on her."

Mikey nods, clapping his brother on the shell, "You look, I'll tell you fantastical tales of our patrol and how nothing at all happened because some psycho girl is doing crazy vigilante work and we only got to the scenes after the fact."

In south Manhattan, Phoenix sinks cautiously down into a darkened alley. A place pinned between two old shops, neither with enough worth to install cameras outside. Crouching behind a dumpster to keep hidden from the street view, she unties her ninjato and unfolds the bulky belt into a light a jacket.

With a peek around the corner at some commotion on the street, she hurries to pull her long braid of red-gold hair out from the back of her shirt. She replaces the braid with her ninjato and pulls the jacket on over top. The commotion begins to move down the street, drunken arguments turning to grumbles as they fade away. Standing in the dark, she uses makeup wipes to clean the black makeup off and tosses them in the dumpster, then pulls her hood back and tugs her mask down to make something like a scarf. Tugging her bangs loose, she drapes them over one eye to hide the color and fluffs them to make them look less flattened.

With her head held high, Phoenix walks out into the near-empty streets. There are people stumbling home from the local bars and others up early and heading either to or from work. She slips into the heading home from work group and glides among the tired grumbles of overworked, underpaid employees.

After a few blocks, she ducks into an all-night café and settles into a back-corner booth. With a mug of cheap coffee and a slice of pie, she finally thinks back on the encounter tonight. The very idea that the giant turtle-men were ninja is laughable, but still, that one snuck up on her and even managed to get his scaly arm around her. She scowls into her coffee with annoyance, her side still stinging from the cut that bounced along her ribs from that damn sai. Technically, she did that to herself, so she can't quite hold a grudge, but its an annoyance and distraction from her work.

With a weariness that isn't all feigned, she gets her pie boxed up and slips back out into the early morning, hunching her shoulders and disappearing into the misty predawn and increasing foot traffic.

* * *

(Thanks so much for reading this far! I had to rewrite this chapter four bloody times before I was satisfied with it!

I'm planning out a chapter a month, but the next chapter will be late as I have an art show I need to prepare for. After that, it'll be Christmas gift orders, but I will be writing between work and projects and of course, family. Feel free to R&R, I, of course, don't own anything of Eastman and Laird, but I do own the other characters and I am using this opportunity to write something that's been in my head for a while and get a lot of good practice in for my next book 3 Take care!)


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